ABSTRACT
Over the last century, the population of urban areas has grown considerably. Today, cities are facing a decline in the quality of life and human well-being. In this regard, ecosystems in urban areas play an increasingly key role in the well-being of the inhabitants. One of the most important urban ecosystems are parks and green spaces in cities. The main purpose of this research is to identify the factors that will increase the presence of citizens in urban parks. For this purpose, Khorramabad city was selected for study. The method of this research is content analysis, which is in the framework of qualitative methods. In the current research, the content of the conversations held with the citizens of Khorramabad was investigated. In this research, based on interviews with 200 citizens, 180 units of analysis were obtained. In the next step, duplicate codes were removed, and finally, 140 codes and key phrases were obtained from citizen interviews. Based on the content analysis process in the second level, similar codes related to a topic were categorized in the form of concepts. Based on the proposed model, 20 concepts were identified. These concepts were also categorized in the third level and the form of common categories. Therefore, based on the research findings, six main factors have an effect on increasing the presence of citizens in city parks. These factors include Justice and equality, Visual appeal, Citizenship culture, Opportunities and assets, Sustainable management and maintenance, and Environmental management.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Over the last century, the population of urban areas has grown considerably. By 1950, these areas accounted for 30% of the world's population, nowadays reaching 50%, and it is estimated to grow above 65% by 2050. Urban areas only cover about 2.4% of the land area, thus having a very high population density. In this way, ecosystems in urban areas play an increasingly key role in the well-being of the inhabitants. One of the most important urban ecosystems are parks and green spaces in cities. Urban green spaces can support human well-being by providing a healthy living environment free of noise or pollution and places to be physically active, socialize, and restore. In previous studies, issues such as access to urban parks, spatial distribution, and the benefits of being in urban green spaces have been studied a lot. However, identifying factors and indicators affecting urban parks has been studied much less. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to identify the factors that will increase the presence of citizens in urban parks. For this purpose, Khorramabad city was selected for study.
Methodology
The method of this research is content analysis, which is in the framework of qualitative methods. The current research investigated the content of the conversations held with the citizens of Khorramabad. In this regard, in-depth interviews were conducted with 200 citizens present in the urban parks. Each interview was extracted in the form of a text. These texts were the units of analysis. In the next step, codes or keywords were extracted. In the next step, these codes were refined, and similar codes were identified in the form of concepts. In the following, the concepts were summarized in the form of a number of categories. In the final stage, the final report was compiled.
Results and discussion
In this research, based on interviews with 200 citizens, 180 units of analysis were obtained. The analysis units were categorized into code, concept, and category. In the next step, duplicate codes were removed, and finally, 140 codes and key phrases were obtained from citizen interviews. Based on the content analysis process in the second level, similar codes related to a topic were categorized in the form of concepts. Based on the proposed model, 20 concepts were identified. These concepts were also categorized in the third level, and the form of common categories and 6 common categories were extracted. Therefore, based on the research findings, six main factors have an effect on increasing the presence of citizens in city parks. These factors include Justice and equality, Visual appeal, Citizenship culture, Opportunities and assets, Sustainable management and maintenance, and Environmental management. Justice and equality are one of the main categories that influence the presence of citizens in urban parks. According to the research results, justice is important in different dimensions. Gender justice, spatial justice, fair access to urban parks, and the inclusiveness of space are among the most important concepts. The research findings showed that the facilities and welfare services in urban parks have an effect on increasing visits to urban parks. In fact, the citizens in the case study, emphasized on three main concepts, i.e., furniture, facilities, and cultural opportunities. The content analysis of citizens' conversations showed that the park management method is one of the categories influencing the increase in citizens' visits to urban parks. In this context, three main concepts were extracted, including management supervision, ensuring the safety of women and children, and the safety of people. The content analysis of citizens' conversations in Khorramabad city showed that the beauty of urban parks considering concepts such as color diversity, flower and plant diversity, water spaces, the combination of artificial and natural environment, and, on the other hand, visual signs and artistic creation, has an effect on the presence of urban parks. Based on the results of content analysis, citizenship culture and the behavior of fellow citizens in relation to the surrounding environment and the behavior of citizens with each other play an important role in the presence of urban parks. Another influential category in increasing the presence of urban parks is improving and promoting environmental management in the mentioned spaces. The research results showed that environmental management includes two main concepts, i.e., environmental cleanliness and health, as well as climate comfort.
Conclusion
In the era of rapid urbanization, the importance of urban ecosystem services such as urban parks, cannot be ignored. From mitigating climate change to increasing public health and well-being, these urban spaces play a vital role in creating sustainable and resilient cities. The issue that should be mentioned as the result of the work is that politicians, urban managers, and urban planners have paid more attention to the quantity of urban parks than the quality of urban parks. Paying attention to quantity will not result in attendance. Rather, it is possible to increase the presence of urban parks when the quality of service in these public spaces improves. Therefore, in addition to increasing the urban green space area and per capita, a step forward should be taken to improve the quality of urban parks.
Funding
There is no funding support.
Authors’ Contribution
Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper. |
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